North Ayrshire’s former council boss will monitor local authority spending across Scotland after landing a new top job on the government watchdog.

Elma Murray, who served as NAC chief executive from 2009 to 2018, was announced as the new deputy chair of Scotland’s Accounts Commission last week by Local Government Minister Kevin Stewart MSP.

And Ms Murray, who was awarded an OBE in 2018, said it was an ‘immense honour’ to join the independent local government spending watchdog – which holds North Ayrshire Council and other local authorities in Scotland to account and tries to help them improve.

She added: “It is an immense honour to be appointed to the role of Deputy Chair of the Accounts Commission.

“This is an important responsibility and I relish the opportunity to continue to contribute to public services in Scotland.”

The four-year part-time appointment has a time commitment of 4.5 days per month until July 31 2023 and pays out £279.18 per day.

Elma left North Ayrshire Council in 2018 after a career in local government spanning around 35 years.

She has also been Chair of Young Scot (Scotland’s youth information and citizenship charity) since June 2017 and became the first Chair of the Scottish Obesity Alliance in December 2018. Elma has had several other senior positions including Chair of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), Director of the Improvement Service and of Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company, Deputy Director of Finance and Head of Service Reform at Glasgow City Council and at Strathclyde Police.

Between 2016 and 2018 Elma sat on the National Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Board and the DYW Diversity Group, working with Rob Woodward, DYW National Group Chair, to support and oversee the development and implementation of regional employer-led DYW Groups to create more opportunities for young people to get into employment.

She was awarded an OBE for Services to Local Government, Education and the Economy before leaving in 2018.